What to do after I find a lead?

[Dallas Martin]

Let's assume I've found a motivated seller.  This person responds to a letter: they call, we chat about their motivation for selling, I ask about the property details (address, equity percent, condition, etc.), and I ultimately determine this is a good prospect.  Where do I go from here?  Is my first step to go see the house?  At what point do I send them a contract?  I'm really just trying to wrap my mind around the process I'm going to follow if/when I start getting calls from interested sellers.